Adam Wood, Yahu Blackwell and Domonic Martin have declared against Nicole Beus Harris, Kim Klacik is considering a bid, and the chair has not said whether she will seek a third term.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Maryland Republicans will pick a state party chair at their December convention, and the race is already taking shape. The Baltimore Banner reported Nov. 12 that two candidates have announced challenges to Chair Nicole Beus Harris and that others are weighing their options. A third, Domonic Martin, has since sent MDBayNews a press release declaring his candidacy. FOX45 reported the party will select its leadership team Dec. 12.
MDBayNews has not confirmed that any candidate, including Harris, has submitted nomination paperwork to the party. Neither outlet reported whether Harris plans to run again. Her current term runs through Jan. 2, 2027, according to her own website. She won the post at the December 2022 convention and was elected to a second two-year term in November 2024, when a threatened challenge from predecessor Dirk Haire fell apart before the vote, as Maryland Matters reported.
The announced candidates
- Adam Wood. Wood ran for Senate District 42 in Baltimore County and was the party’s executive director for three years. Under the party’s bylaws, as MDBayNews reads them, the executive director is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the chair. The party announced on Dec. 15, 2025, that he was leaving the job, and the Banner reported he was pushed out when he ran for a Baltimore County Senate seat. He lost the primary. FOX45 reported he announced on Election Day. Wood says his time running the party and working campaigns gives him perspective, and he has avoided blaming individuals. FOX45 said he points to messaging and a bad national year and wants district-specific strategies. The tension is obvious: he helped run the operation he now wants to lead, and voters will ask what he would do differently from the chair’s seat.
- Yahu Blackwell. Blackwell ran for Senate District 8 in Baltimore County and also lost. He wants a rebrand and told the Banner he got “zero support” from the state party. Blackwell also spoke with MDBayNews about his bid. His blunt assessment of the election, in his own words to the Banner, was that Republicans “got their asses kicked.”
- Domonic Martin. Martin sent MDBayNews a press release declaring his candidacy for chair. He was the Republican nominee for House of Delegates in District 44B in Baltimore County this year and lost in the general election. Other coverage of the chair race reviewed for this article had not named him.
The maybes
- Kim Klacik. The WCBM host ran for Congress in 2020 and, per FOX45, raised nearly $8.3 million before losing to Kweisi Mfume in the 7th District. She told the station she is “strongly considering” a run and called the state party “non-existent.” She also said the names she keeps hearing are “the same people who haven’t done the job.” She brings name recognition and a fundraising record. She has not held a party post.
- Terry Hanley and Julie Giordano. FOX45 mentioned both. Hanley is chief of staff to Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly and is reportedly calling members for support. Giordano lost the Wicomico County executive race. Neither commented.
Not in the race
Gordana Schifanelli. The 2022 lieutenant governor nominee is not a candidate. She lives in Florida, according to MDBayNews reporting, which matches the Banner. She told MDBayNews she is not a member of the Republican Party and that a “draft Gordana” website, which the Baltimore Banner cited as an effort to recruit her, is not connected to her. The Banner’s description of her as a possible contender does not match what she told MDBayNews, but anything is possible. Her only prior run for chair ended in 2022, when party officials ruled her paperwork an hour late, as WTOP and Maryland Matters reported.
The incumbent
Harris declined a Banner interview and said the party would review results after the mail and provisional ballots are counted. FOX45 reported she has not answered its requests for comment. She is married to Rep. Andy Harris, the state’s only Republican member of Congress. One critic quoted by the Banner argues the party exists mainly to protect him. Her backers can point to the party’s own claim of 25,000 more registered Republicans and nearly all debt retired since early 2023. Critics can point to a registration lead over unaffiliated voters of only about 1,900, per the Banner.
Who chooses the next chair?
The chair is chosen by the Republican State Central Committee at the convention, not by primary voters. Under the party’s bylaws, convention votes are weighted. Of 500 base votes, half are divided equally among counties, 20 percent by Republican registration and 30 percent by Republican votes for governor or president, with additional votes possible for county performance. Proxies are allowed with restrictions. That makes county relationships as important as any statewide pitch. The December convention also elects the vice chairs, secretary, and treasurer, so candidates may line up competing slates. The Banner also noted that a change at the top may not change the party’s rightward direction.
What to watch
- Harris’s decision. Whether she runs for a third term.
- Nov. 22, the nomination deadline. Under the party’s bylaws, as amended Nov. 23, 2024, nomination forms are due 20 calendar days before the convention, which is Nov. 22 if the convention is Dec. 12. Late nominations are disqualified under the regular process, though the bylaws allow nominations from the floor by a two-thirds vote. No one has confirmed who has filed, so the paperwork status of every candidate is an open question.
- Klacik. Whether she makes it official.
- Filings. Whether the declared candidates have submitted nomination forms.
- Nov. 17 finance reports. They will show what the state party raised and spent, which both sides will use.
- Endorsements. Which county leaders and elected officials pick a side.
What comes next
The emerging field offers Maryland Republicans different approaches to the party’s future, from organizational experience and messaging changes to rebuilding its base. MDBayNews will examine the candidates individually in the weeks ahead, reviewing their records, qualifications and plans for a party that has struggled to compete statewide.
Sources: The Baltimore Banner, “Maryland’s Republican Party is broken. Where does it go from here?” Nov. 12, 2026. FOX45 (WBFF), “‘Strongly considering’: Kim Klacik eyes Maryland GOP chair, torches direction,” Nov. 2026. Maryland Matters, “Political notes: Mutual admiration society, GOP chair reelected,” Nov. 25, 2024. Maryland Matters, “Schifanelli bows out of GOP chair race after filing documents missed deadline by an hour,” Nov. 22, 2022. WTOP, “Maryland GOP taps Congressman’s wife as new chair,” Dec. 11, 2022. Maryland Republican Party, “Executive Director Adam Wood Leaving the Maryland Republican Party,” Dec. 15, 2025. Maryland Republican Party release on the Fall 2024 Convention. Maryland Republican Party bylaws, amended Nov. 23, 2024. Maryland State Board of Elections, 2026 primary and unofficial general election results, House of Delegates District 44B. Ballotpedia, Maryland elections, 2026. Domonic Martin campaign press release to MDBayNews, Nov. 2026. nicolebeusharris.com, “About.”
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